Report: Washington Commanders waiving QB Sam Hartman

According to Tom Pelissero of The Ringer, quarterback Sam Hartman is being waived by the Washington Commanders. However, his time in our nation’s capital might not be completely over. Pelissero added to the report, saying the Commanders “would like” to get Hartman back on the practice squad.

Hartman has been with Washington since 2024, joining the team as an undrafted free agent. His college days were primarily spent at Wake Forest (five years) before entering the NCAA transfer portal. From there, Notre Dame picked up the talented quarterback and put together a nice 2023 season. The Irish won nine games to begin the Marcus Freeman era.

Since joining the professional ranks, not too much time has been spent on the active roster. Hartman had one stint back in 2024 when then-backup Marcus Mariota suffered an injury. The move only lasted for a few weeks before moving back to the practice squad.

There was an opportunity for Hartman to get on the field during the preseason. Friday night was the latest, but unfortunately, the results were not great. Hartman completed nine of his 14 passes for a total of 64 yards. Washington got blown out by the Baltimore Ravens 41-3.

Even so, Hartman thought there were things for the offense to build off of. Especially since everybody is still learning a new system. Work remains but during the preseason, Hartman still thought the process was there.

“I think (it’s) a credit to (Commanders OC David) Blough, right?” Hartman said. “We started early, like May… You know, we (are) kind of creating a sculpture, right? And you get the marble, and you just start hacking away, and you try and create something that’s beautiful. Obviously we’re still hacking away right now. But a credit to the coaching staff.

“They work incredibly hard top to bottom and you know we just got to go out there and execute as a team. It always starts with the quarterback, and it always starts with me. I can look at the tape and say, ‘If I do this a little better, then we probably don’t have such a bad day.’”

Whether or not Hartman will get to continue to work under Blough will be determined in the next few days. Before getting back on the practice squad, he must clear waivers. All part of the process that comes with finalizing a roster before Week 1 of the NFL season.